BIR and Customs Staff to be transitioned to Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority

October 23, 2017: As announced by the Honourable Minister of Finance in his presentation of the 2018 Budget Statement on October 2nd 2017, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has taken a decision to establish a revenue authority, the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA).

The TTRA will be a Government agency, which will be responsible for the collection of government revenue and the provision of other services for the protection of government revenue, including investigation of tax evasion, the conduct of audits and border protection.

The TTRA will subsume the powers, responsibilities and functions of the Board of Inland Revenue and the Customs and Excise Division under the provisions of the Exchequer and Audit Act and all other relevant revenue legislation and regulations.

Government has also taken a decision that all staff in the Inland Revenue Division and the Customs and Excise Division will transition from their respective positions to the TTRA at terms and conditions, no less favourable than those that they currently enjoy, if they so desire. That means that any member of staff who desires to transition to the TTRA will be guaranteed a position in the organisation. One objective of the TTRA is to better compensate, incentivise, train and equip staff to execute their duties more efficiently and effectively.

Staff who do not wish to transition to the TTRA, would be able to remain in the Public Service at terms and conditions no less favourable than those they now enjoy. In furtherance of this policy, the Ministry of Finance has started the process of mapping the human resources in both agencies. All categories of staff – permanent, temporary, contract, monthly-paid and daily-paid – will be mapped so that the interest of all staff would be protected.